Wyden Announces Agreement by License Plate Surveillance Tech Company to Protect Oregonians’ Data from Immigration and Abortion-Related Abuses
Senator says commitment he sought from Flock will protect Oregonians from abusive queries of data by out-of-state law enforcement agencies of data collected from cameras in Oregon
Washington, D.C. –U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today announced that Flock, a license plate surveillance technology company, has agreed to his request that it protect Oregonians’ data from abusive access by out-of-state law enforcement agencies as part of their states’ anti-abortion investigations, and to assist federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Oregonians should never be driving in fear that automatic license plate reader cameras installed by police departments could be abused by anti-abortion forces in other states, or by Donald Trump’s authoritarian deployment of immigration agents,” Wyden said. “When I learned that Flock had adopted stronger privacy protections for other states, I demanded that Oregonians get the same protections too. I’ll keep watchdogging this company’s commitment to make sure it’s carried out throughout our state.”
Wyden said he contacted Flock after confirming with Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and Oregon State Police that there is no statewide policy on license plate reader technology nor a statewide policy requiring Oregon police departments contracting with Flock to lock down their sharing settings so as to prevent out-of-state abuses covered by this new policy.
The senator’s staff then asked Flock officials to implement in Oregon similar privacy filters that the company has already adopted in Illinois to prevent out-of-state police searches related to abortion or immigration. The company agreed to his request, and confirmed that Oregonians’ license plate data will be protected from such abusive queries as of July 25, 2025.
Police departments in other states will still be able to search license plate data that Oregon police departments have chosen to share for other legitimate law enforcement purposes. The new policy by Flock will not affect searches conducted by police departments in Oregon.
“I want to thank Senator Wyden for his work to get these additional privacy protections in place for Oregonians,” Rayfield said. “This change helps ensure that data collected here can’t be used to target people for things that are legal in Oregon, like accessing reproductive health care or simply living here without fear. It’s a meaningful step in the right direction, and as we continue looking at how to strengthen Oregon’s own data privacy laws, this gives us a stronger foundation to build on.”
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